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Monday, April 30, 2012

The Wisconsin recall election is a test on whether outsiders and union operatives can bully and intimidate people into giving them what they want. They are pumping millions of dollars and sending in outsiders to organize and walk the precincts. Will their tactics work? Neal Boortz doesn't think so. But I suggest prayers for Governor Walker. The left is pushing this for all its worth.

With the population aging, more and more families will be dealing with elder care, either at home or in institutions. When I read this article about the Eden Alternative I was excited at the possibilities for helping those who can no longer be as independent as they would like to still know how valuable they are in the community. Our capacity to love isn't measured by the number of sex conquests, but by our service to those around us. Think of a "story project" where young people interact with an elderly person for a number of weeks learning about their lives and experiences of a by-gone age. That is living history. My own dad had a Navy archivist visiting him in the last weeks of his life. Among the diminishing group of Pearl Harbor survivors, he had a story to share about a critical period of our U.S. past.

I visit a nursing home every week to bring Communion to the Catholic residents. I see exactly what the Eden project is saying when they describe the triple enemies of the elderly and disabled: loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. My own brother who had a stroke three years ago and is debilitated both physically and mentally from it is living that triple challenge.

What a blessing if things could be changed to create a more homelike environment with partnerships in the community. I'm adding the Eden Alternative to my rosary prayer list. The founder of the Eden Alternative, Dr. Bill Thomas has written a book called Tribes of Eden. I haven't read it, but I'm intrigued by the promo.

Tomorrow is May Day. It wasn't always a Communist holiday, but is now inextricably bound up with Marxist socialism. And if anything shows the link between the Occupy Movement and Communist socialism its the plans for May Day. Communism has always used chaos and violence to advance its objectives and plans for tomorrow indicate some things never change. In New York City the plan is to disrupt the morning commute blocking bridges and streets and engaging in propaganda events everywhere. The LBGT contingent have their own plans. Occupy is also after the public housing tenants, so just think, your tax dollars will be supporting this anarchy. Some of the events in NYC are permit-allowed, but others are being promoted as non-allowed (read illegal) activities to disrupt the rights of others to go about their business un-harassed.

In Oakland, notorious for Occupy violence, initial plans included closing down the Golden Gate Bridge, but organizers have backed off that threat and aim to just stop ferry service. A nurses strike that may put local patients lives at risk is also planned.

If you think all this chaos is a spontaneous uprising, you have never studied Marxism (or Saul Alinsky, socialist extraordinaire). Expect to see global activity. Like every other Communist events fomenting chaos this is all about useful dupes and fellow travelers being manipulated in mob tactics to gain power for the few. (Have you ever read Bella Dodd's description of Communism?) Did the Communists ever care about the workers in Russia? Uh...sure they did! That's why all the workers had to stand in line everywhere to buy basic daily necessities. It's why people were jammed into tiny apartments while Communist leaders lived in luxury. But I guess I shouldn't really use the past tense. Communism is not dead. It lives on in the Occupy movement and in the thug tactics of unions like the SEIU and in Alinsky organizing.

But May Day has another connotation, one that gives hope. It's the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. While the Occupy movement raises its fist against heaven, St. Joseph raises his arms, filled with tools, in godly labor. He teaches the dignity and value of work and challenges all employers to pay a fair wage and all workers to give a fair day's work. Tonight my husband and I will say our rosary through the intercession of St. Joseph the worker, that God's will be done on May Day.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

I think we have a right to know what foods in the market are genetically modified. I sure don't want to eat them if I have a choice. Pretty soon we may have no choice. Most of the soybeans and corn are GM already. How many of the potatoes? And to see the scientists who speak the truth persecuted is shameful. Gee, where have we seen that before? Ah, I remember, the man-made global warming "deniers."

To watch the movie on-line use these links. (Hat tip to Dianne Irving):

-- Scientists Under Attack - Genetic Engineering
In The Magnetic Field Of Money (part 1 of 4):
http://vimeo.com/36616268

-- Scientists Under Attack - Genetic Engineering
In The Magnetic Field of Money (part 2 of 4):
http://vimeo.com/36616733

-- Scientists Under Attack - Genetic Engineering
In The Magnetic Field Of Money (part 3 of 4):
http://vimeo.com/36619464

-- Scientists Under Attack - Genetic Engineering
In The Magnetic Field Of Money (part 4 of 4):
http://vimeo.com/36619521

Friday, April 27, 2012

Reuters should be congratulated for taking a long look into the real George Zimmerman. Up to now Zimmerman's been portrayed as a racist monster, but his upbringing was a model of diversity with a black great grandfather, a Hispanic mom, and a white dad. Holidays were filled with family and friends of all races. But the media, especially the New York times, is using the term "white Hispanic" for Zimmerman apparently to fit their liberal agenda of laying all things evil at the feet of racist whites. I eagerly await the demise of that politically correct rag.

I'm afraid George Zimmerman has been so demonized in the press,that he he can never get a fair trial. The charge of second degree murder was completely political as Alan Dershowitz is pointing out all over the internet (one example below). You can almost hear the Pharisaical liberals saying, "It's better for one man to get the shaft to keep the people happy." And, we're already hearing that if Zimmerman isn't convicted there will be riots. Reminds me of the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson trials.

So what's the message here? All white-black crimes must have only one outcome. Do I have to "splain it" to ya? This is what liberalism has done to the country.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

One more patient being steered toward the organ farm woke up and walked out of the hospital five weeks after doctors told his dad he was brain dead and would never recover. Dad just didn't listen and enlisted the assistance of a G.P. and neurologist to fight for his son's life. Today the 21-year-old is studying accounting at a local U.K. college. Life Site News says Stephen Thorpe's case is like dozens of others. So when you hear the words "brain dead" remember Stephen Thorpe et al and get another opinion to protect your loved one. This is why I will NEVER approve for myself or anyone else the transplantation of unpaired essential organs. How many patients never get a chance to wake up because they are killed for their organs? For more on brain death, check out these article in the Les Femmes archive.

I thought this video was interesting. In view of the fact that Obama has spent most of the last four years campaigning (often at taxpayer expense) and Michelle has become the darling of the entertainment TV circuit, I'd say we have a celebrity couple in the White House. And all the junkets make them look like the rich elitists they are. It's no wonder they want higher taxes. After all, they need them to plan their travel itinerary for the campaign -- like visiting college campuses to win the student vote even though Democratic policies have decimated jobs for recent graduates.

This appointment certainly revives the oft-stated concerns about Gov. Romney from both the right and the left that he has no moral core, and is, as one left-wing columnist said, "a hollow man."What can the governor do, if he wishes to, to contain the collateral damage from this spectacularly misbegotten decision?

For starters, he can answer one question for the American people: "Gov. Romney, is homosexual behavior healthy or harmful? Yes or no?"

If he answers "Yes," how can he expect the pro-family community to support him? If he answers "No," then why he is putting someone who engages in such behavior in such a prominent position in his campaign?

Romney may believe the canard that social conservatives have no place to go and will have to vote for him. But I can think of lots of places I can go on election: the grocery store, the movies, a walk to the dam, the park with my grandchildren, the bathroom to wash my hair. If Romney is going to take the country down the same path as Obama, why vote for him? The issues that matter most are moral issues. And if politicians are wrong on those, they don't deserve a vote. The economy is probably going under in any case and rightly so. A country that sells its soul and murders its children for love of money, pleasure, and power may only come to its senses when everything material is taken away.

Fischer has some suggestions for "commitments" from Romney, but why should anyone trust the man? Whoever said forget the presidency this election cycle and work on the Congress has it right I think. Romney is a disaster! And he just proves it over and over and over again.

It's interesting. Alabama police are saying the assault on Matthew Owens is not a hate crime despite the fact that it was a gang of blacks who attacked him and one mentioned getting even for Trayvon Martin. It's also interesting that most of the stories are talking about Matthew Owens fussing at a group of "children" which in my mind conjures up images of little kids. But apparently the "children" involved were teenagers who came back with adults armed to the teeth with belt buckles, metal pipes, etc. to beat Owens to a pulp.

And is the gal on the news serious when she calls the beating an "accident?" There was nothing accidental about it.

Why don't we just get rid of the "hate crime" designation altogether. Is assaulting and stealing the purse from an old white lady, less offensive than assaulting and robbing somebody who's (take your pick) black, Hispanic, gay, Muslim, etc.? The fact is that our culture is becoming more polarized. Politicians use the politics of division to strengthen their base. It's an evil way to do business, but apparently works.

Larry and I joined the 40 Days for Life at this Denver abortion mill last fall when we were on our cross country trip. I immediately recognized it in the picture. It's time to take our faith to the streets and stop hiding our light under a bushel basket. The demons of blood lust quake in fear at the mere name of Jesus. What do you think they do when he is physically present? God bless Fr. Joseph Hearty and pray for his protection. Satan will be after him big time!

Wow! When I watched this video I almost had to laugh. An ultrasound is a "sexual assault" or "a rape?" What's rape and sexual assault is taking a steel instrument, sticking it up a woman's vagina, turning on a strong vaccuum, and moving the instrument around to suck out her baby. That's assault! With two victims: one dead, one wounded, sometimes both dead. Fortunately the Virginia State Legislature was too smart to listen to their lies! Please follow the instruction at the end of the video and say thank you.

When Roe v. Wade determined that abortion was a decision between a woman and her doctor do you think the justices had butchers like Stephen Brigham in mind? There are no Albert Schweitzers running abortion mills. These guys don't even deserve the title Doctor. They're bottom feeders, killers for hire, who murder babies and sometimes kill their mothers as well. Many of these "medical professionals" have criminal records for sex abuse of their patients as well. Hey, she won't remember; she was all drugged up at the time.

Read the stories of women who died from abortion -- some legal, some illegal, some self-induced. No matter how they got their abortions, they are all equally dead. Abortions, even so-called "safe and legal" abortions kill women.

There's an old saying -- "The more things change, the more they remain the same." I thought of that this morning at Mass. The first reading was from Acts of the Apostles, the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr. The elders and the scribes ruthlessly killed him. Why? Because he proclaimed a hard truth they didn't want to hear and because so many people, including "many priests," were embracing Christ's teachings. Stephen was among the most articulate of the disciples and worked many signs and wonders in the community. Members of the synagogue who debated him "proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke." And so the enemies of the truth determined to shut him up.

Well, there's more than one way to get your will, so, unable to best him in debate, they followed the same tactic used to crucify Jesus. They accused Stephen of blasphemy. (We have our own modern day "blasphemy" against the spirit of the world. If you oppose homosexual behavior or contraception and abortion, you must be accused and browbeaten into silence!)

The Sanhedrin listened to Stephen's discourse in hostility. He gave a history lesson of the chosen people that is instructive to our own era. "A new king came to power in Egypt...[who] forced our fathers to abandon their infants to exposure so that the people would not survive." Ah, yes, like our own "king" who not only champions the killing of babies in the womb but supports letting newborns die of "exposure" by denying them medical care. But he is just the latest in a long string of murdering tyrants beginning with the five men in black who decided Roe v. Wade. The fact that the killing targets the poor and minorities is covered up by those who use them as election fodder. No, things haven't changed much in 2000 years.

Stephen reminded the Sanhedrin of the chosen people's 40-year infidelity to God in the desert after they left Egypt. "You took along the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan." In our day too the truths of the Holy Spirit have been abandoned for an earth worship, pleasure-centered cult that considers killing people a virtue to save Holy Mother Earth or guarantee the right to be happy unhindered by unwanted responsibility. So kill the babies by abortin and shunt Granny off to a nursing home and deprive her of food and water when you want her out of the way.

The words that stung Stephen's listeners to the heart could well be used against us:

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always opposing the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did before you. Was there ever any prophet whom your fathers did not persecute? In their day, they put to death those who foretold the coming of the Just One; now you in your turn have become his betrayers and murderers. You who received the law through the ministry of angels have not observed it.

And then they killed him. Is our culture any different than theirs? The truth has been given and many have cast it off preferring the lie. Our own scribes and elders shout and cover their ears against the truth. They drag their opponents into the market place labeling them hatemongers, judgmental and intolerant. If they can, they kill reputations and job opportunities and even strive to criminalize their opponents' speech and throw them in jail. And they are as relentless as Stephen's persecutors.

No doubt, as Stephen died, his enemies felt victorious. But it was Stephen who experienced a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God. It was Stephen who died forgiving his murderers. It was Stephen who received the reward of a martyr and a prophet.

Imitate Stephen today: proclaim the truth without fear of consequence, forgive your enemies who hate and malign you in comments on blogs and Facebook or verbally outside abortion mills. Stand unflinchingly for the truth with the spirit of St. Stephen, confident that, by your faithfulness, the truth will be preserved. Fr. John Hardon often said that the Catholic Church will survive only were "there are Catholics who are living martyrs." Things haven't changed much in 2000 years. But, by the grace of God, we can remain faithful to the truth like St. Stephen before us.

Monday, April 23, 2012

In the early 1960s, the Second Vatican Council called on religious orders to renew and update themselves, removing “outdated” rules and customs so as to engage the modern world.For example, many religious orders were continuing the custom of waking up at dawn and going to bed at twilight, she said. This rule was left over from a time before electricity was in use, and it is now unnecessary and outdated.But while the council called for renewal by returning to the orders’ original founding ideas and adapting them to modern times, many people misinterpreted this call and instead proceeded to “totally throw off some of the essentials of religious life,” she said.The result was an abandonment of central elements of religious life, such as living and praying in community, serving in a corporate apostolate and wearing some type of distinctive religious garb, she explained.Carey said that after Vatican II, members of many religious orders began to live in apartments and find their own jobs, separate from a corporate apostolate such as teaching or care for the sick.In addition, they threw off the “loyalty and faithfulness to the Church” as well as the “deference to the hierarchy” that had previously characterized religious life.The changes were so drastic that they caused some women to leave the LCWR, Carey said. These women formed another group, which eventually became an alternative superiors’ conference known as the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious.This more traditional group, which requires its members to adhere to the essentials of religious life as understood by the Church, is attracting the bulk of young vocations today, she noted.

Can you imagine a Romney video announcing "white Americans for Romney?" And when Obama talks about people paying their "fair share" do you suppose he's addressing the nearly 50% of Americans who don't pay a penny in federal income tax? Look at the tax information and note that the evil one percent pay over 36% of income taxes. The top five percent pay almost sixty percent of income taxes. The top ten percent pay over 70%. Is that fair?

Obama is not only a racist who pits whites and blacks against each other, but he is the great divider using class envy to rally his supporters and attack anyone who is successful. I'm not a Romney fan because he's a liberal, but to attack him because his family was successful is shameful. Why is it okay for Obama to reach for the stars and succeed, but not okay for other rich folks? As well as being the racist in chief and the great divider, Obama's third title has to be First Hypocrite.

I'll close with a question: When all those taxpayers at the top are destroyed or take their successful businesses out of the country, who is going to fill the gap and pay the 70% of taxes they pay now? Any volunteers?

California has been dumbing down kids for several generations. The question I have is this: was it a deliberate attempt to reduce the ability of the electorate to make intelligent decisions and fight the left? John Dewey believed the purpose of education was social control and it's a whole lot easier to control people who can't read. At any rate, it seems that more and more California natives will be unqualified to compete for Silicon Valley high tech jobs. And, with people fleeing the state, fast food employers (as well as all other kinds) will need fewer employees.

One bright note: When the big one hits, fewer people will be impacted.

By the way, the dunce cap in the picture isn't for the students, it's for the educrats (starting with John Dewey) who sold them down the river!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Some people believe that only those who are "perfect" have lives worth living. That was certainly the attitude behind the T-4 Euthanasia program in Nazi Germany. The little girl in this story would never have made the cut with the "doctors" evaluating the children. That's what happens when government decides it has the power to make decisions over life and death.

We are already in such a culture and it's growing darker. Obama tells us we are REQUIRED to pay for drugs that kill children under the phony name of chemical contraception. Millions of our tax dollars go every year to Murder Inc. aka Planned Parenthood to murder both handicapped children and those who are perfectly healthy. There is nothing "contraceptive" about drugs that kill an already conceived child.

Praise God for little ones like Annie Clark. They give us an example of courage and perseverance and new meaning to the word "perfect." Annie is perfectly beautiful! And God doesn't make mistakes!

Friday, April 20, 2012

"Earth Day" is celebrated on April 22nd. I had no idea that the origins of the day are connected to Vladimir Lenin, one of the greatest tyrant-butchers in history. The first earth day was celebrated on his 100th birthday, an event orchestrated by left-wing activists. Read more about the origin of earth day and how Lenin took control of the land by imposing a decree stating that all forests, waters, and minerals were property of the state. Many say that "green is the new red" and certainly the environmental movement illustrates communist policy of controlled chaos and perpetual revolution. Look at the global warming hysteria and see how it's been used to undermine U.S. energy policies and advance liberalism.

Communism didn't disappear with the fall of the Berlin wall. Gorbachev avowed that he will always be a communist. He also said communism needed a new, softer face. That face is environmentalism. Have you heard of Green Cross International? It was founded in the 90s by Gorbachev and has dozens of affiliates all over the world. It partners with other dozens of environmental groups. Ted Turner who wants to eliminate most of the world's population is on its board. Many of the partner groups are environmental extremists who accept all the propaganda on "climate change" and want policies to control people to "safeguard" nature. In a 2009 article in the New York Times, Gorbachev wrote about the importance of governments taking action to save the planet from global warming. Note the fear-mongering, the "emergency." There is no better way to control people than by controlling water, energy, and food production. The environmental movement is impacting all three and using the symbols of religion as icons of manipulation. Environmentalism is the religion of earth worship to rival Christianity. In order to protect the "sacred earth" human populations must be limited to reduce their carbon footprints. Despite the birth dearth in the West (and most other places for that matter), environmentalism is being used to demand birth limitation.

We need to fight back. Which leads me to a few modest proposals (in no particular order) for the celebration of earth day:

#1 (my favorite) - If you're married, have another baby, participate with God in the creation of a new soul worth more than everything else on this planet and in the universe combined;

#2 Picket your local abortion mill with a poster saying Protect the Earth: No more babies in our landfills!

#3 Take your children on a litter walk and explain what it means to be God's good steward of the earth, rather than making the earth a god to be worshiped;

#4 Say the rosary in thanksgiving for this beautiful planet over which God gave us dominion;

#5 Pray for the conversion of all those who worship the earth instead of God.

And finally, on earth day and every day of the year, let's all do our best to practice the two great commandments: Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. If we all do that, we won't have to worry about the earth.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

We bring women into the army and have them sharing facilities with men. We put them in or near the front lines. We let gays be out and proud.. And now we are reaping the consequences of our social experimentation. Here are a few results from a report on sexual violence in the military. (Read the full article here.):

A hike of 22 percent since 2007 in the sexual assaults in all branches

A doubling since 2006 of the number of violent attacks and rapes in the Army, from 663 in 2006 to 1,313 last year

A “chilling trend” of violent sex crimes rising at the rate of 14.6 percent annually, “and the rate is accelerating”

A 28 percent increase in the offense rate and a 20 percent increase in offenders from 2006-2011 in sex crimes in the active-duty Army

A jump in male sexual assault victims from 10 percent in 2010 to 14 percent in confidential reports for 2011

The need to fire senior enlisted Navy officers at the rate of nearly two per month because of sexual misconduct.

Some of us aren't surprised. Our government leaders have taken a military that was the best in the world and turned it into a chaotic mess to meet the demands of political correctness. So not only do our young men and women have to worry about the enemy outside trying to kill them, but the enemy within trying to rape and bugger them. What progress! Thanks, Clinton, for Don't Ask Don't Tell. Thanks, Obama, for stripping off even that fig leaf. Thanks military advisers who want women in combat. You are all responsible for this mess. Now how are you going to fix it?

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) is calling for reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the association of radical nuns who promote dissent in the Church. In a "doctrinal assessment" released today. LCWR is critiqued and found wanting in three areas: addresses at the LCWR Assemblies, their policy of "corporate dissent," and their "radical feminism." Among other things, the assessment found LCWR promoting "positive error" in talks given at their conferences, exacerbated by "silence and inaction of the LCWR in the face of such error."

The two-page mandate for implementing the doctrinal assessment includes the following:

1) "To revise LCWR Statutes to ensure greater clarity about the scope of the mission and responsibilities of this conference of major superiors" subject to approval by the Holy See.
2) "To review LCWR plans and programs, including General Assemblies and publications, to ensure... [they] accord with Church teachings and discipline." Speakers at major programs are henceforth "subject to approval" and certain materials must be revised and reformed.
3) "To create new LCWR programs for member Congregations...that provides (sic) a deepened understanding of the Church's doctrine of the faith."
4) "To review and offer guidance in the application of liturgical norms and texts." For example giving a "place of priority in LCWR events to the Holy Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours.
5) "To review LCWR links with affiliated organizations, e.g., Network and Resource Center for Religious Life."

The mandate is for a period of up to five years "as deemed necessary."

All I can say is, "IT'S ABOUT TIME!" Donna Steichen summarized all the abuses of the LCWR mentioned in the doctrinal assessment in her book Ungodly Rage published in 1992. It's only taken twenty years for the men in the Church to come to the same conclusions as this godly prophet. In the meantime, think of all the damage done to the people under the influence of these dissenters.

On the other hand, better late than never. So read the full report and rejoice. The coven of witches running the LCWR is being called out. Do you think they'll obey or rally their followers to withdraw to a moonlit grove in the woods to commune with Sophia? After all, many of these women claim that the priesthood is outdated and unnecessary, their function replaced by the community. Of course, that's not what Jesus taught, but what radical feminist nun ever let a little problem like what Jesus taght get in her way? Pray that the nuns change their tune and sing a song of humility and obedience to Peter's successor. If not, sayonara, old babes, we'll pray for your salvation.

A few days ago I blogged about the day of silence (DOS). Today I found out that our local high school in Woodstock has a gay-straight alliance club which is a sponsor of DOS. So I sent a letter to the editor. One of the main points I wanted to make is that homosexual behavior is anything but safe for our children as the CDC data on new AIDS cases illustrates! Here's my letter:

Dear Editor:

Last night I attended the Shenandoah County Budget meeting
and heard at least a dozen teachers and supporters call for full funding of the
school budget, so I spent some time on
Central High School’s website. I was disturbed to find a gay-straight alliance
(GSA) club listed. While GSA advertises itself as an anti-bullying program to
create “safe” schools, the national movement is about training youth to advance the gay agenda.
GSA’s website has photos of students wearing lanyards reading “queer youth”
and carrying signs that say “I (heart) queers” and “young, queer, and proud.” Is
this how we train kids not to call names?

GSA promotes special rights for those who identify as LGBT. GSA
promotes same sex marriage, hate speech laws, etc. One article on the GSA
website quotes a GSA promoter in California saying, “’"I
do have the legal right, if I were a transgender girl, to use the girls'
restroom,’ Solis said. ‘The school could not make me use the boys'
restroom.’" He went on to say, “If
a student wears an ‘I support same-sex marriage’ T-shirt to school, that is
protected political speech and it's legal for them to wear it,’ he said.”
Another article on teen suicide, essentially blamed it on conservatives, saying
there’s less suicide in Democratic areas. It quoted a homosexual student –
“Toomay said signs of community intolerance, including bumper stickers opposing
same-sex marriage, also made him feel down, and he sought guidance from a
school counselor after contemplating suicide.” So all those citizens in
California who voted for Proposition 8 to uphold traditional marriage are
intolerant and make gay kids “contemplate suicide.” Wow!

While GSA talks against “hate” it engenders hatred
toward Christians and conservatives who oppose homosexual BEHAVIOR. Everyone
deserves respect as a child of God, but to give special rights to some people based
on their activity and requiring others to affirm it is itself a form of intolerance.

If we are really concerned about making children
feel safe, let’s discourage them from same-sex behavior. According to the
Center for Disease Control, more than 50% of new AIDS cases are from men having
sex with men, with an alarming 21% in youth from age 13-29. Could the promotion
in the schools have something to do with that alarming figure? Somehow, I doubt
if the GSA club is warning their members that gay sex is deadly.

With regard to the school budget, If they allow this
nonsense it makes me question their judgment on other things including the
claim of a “bare-bones” budget.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Somebody has to be to blame for the GSA (General Services Administration) extravaganza in Las Vegas that spent nearly a million taxpayer dollars so fat cat bureaucrats could enjoy plush hotel digs, gourmet meals, and take-home goody-bags. And of course it can't be the greed of the public "servants" themselves. Somebody made 'em do it? Who? George Bush is getting a little thin as the scapegoat. But Suzy Khimm at the Washington Post has the answer.

Big business made 'em do it! "It shouldn't come as a surprise that some government employees have embraced the free-wheeling ways of the private sector," Khimm tells us. After all, GSA deals with the business world and contract for their services and businesses spend money on wheeling and dealing.

I think Khimm is on to something. Government/business relationships offer many opportunities for corruption. And one of the coziest government/business relationship involving the current administration, one that has stalled the budget at times and represents the #1 issue with Obama's healthcare mandate is the mega-big business that masquerades as a non-profit. (drum roll.....) PLANNED PARENTHOOD, aka Murder for Hire.

Khimm missed that one. She had her sights on Exxon, but Planned Parenthood would be a better example. They rake in multi-millions of our tax dollars every year with bogus claims of providing "health care" to women. Actually, their "reproductive services" make women sicker. Their birth control pills have acted like fertilizer to the breast cancer epidemic endangering younger and younger women with ever more virulent strains of the disease. But they keep the money rolling in with massive expenditures on lobbying including over $1.5 million in 2011. They also overcharge for their services. According to former abortion mill director Abby Johnson, her Planned Parenthood office charged the feds $750.00 for IUDs that cost them $300.00. Nice little profit there and that didn't even count the cost of insertion. (Isn't the mechanic's labor fee always more than the part he installs?)

GSA really has nothing on Planned Parenthood when it comes to waste and fraud of taxpayer dollars. Apparently they aren't very adept pupils. But since PP shows no signs of being abandoned by the true believers in the administration, they no doubt still have plenty of time to learn.

Small farmers raising pigs in Michigan are under assault. The state of Michigan is declaring certain pigs "feral" so they can order their destruction, a move that will advance the big pork conglomerates while putting small competitive farmers out of business. Farmers who resist are labeled "felons" and threatened with arrest. Agents are coming onto family farms and shooting the animals. (Where's PETA when you need them.)

Read this article and then watch the video below. I tried to find this story in the mainstream press and couldn't. Wake up, folks. The tyranny is here and the government agents aren't just in Waco anymore. What's happening to small farmers, home owners, home schoolers, home gardeners... anybody who resists Big Brother's agenda...is horrifying! These are terrorists backed by the power of the state. These farmers aren't doing anything wrong. Support those who are fighting back.

This belongs in Ripley's Believe it or Not! What a triumph for the Obama stimulus. The location of the manzanita plant is being kept secret due to fear that plant enthusiasts may flock to see it and damage it by trampling. However, I think the real fear is that taxpayers may descend on it and kill it for revenge. But hey, they could replace it with a plant from the nursery (like the one on the right) for $18 or so. Don't you just love a government that will knock down your house in a minute to build a shopping mall, but spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to move a darn plant!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

In view of the folks Obama has surrounded himself with and his own excesses, it doesn't seem surprising to me that the executive branch is showing some serious integrity problems. It's bad enough to have the GSA shaming us in the U.S. with a million dollar Vegas blowout, but now the Secret Service is shaming us in a foreign country.

Here's just one problem with global warming data related to temperature collection:

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, are collecting data from thousands fewer temperature reporting stations than they did in 1970. The smaller sample size is compromised by locating the remaining stations in urban areas and not compensating for the localized warming known as the urban heat island effect.

Leave it to Planned Parenthood to come up with a brilliant response to 40 Days for Life which has saved thousands of babies and closed a number of abortion mills.

Well...ya just gotta fight fire with fire. If those people of faith are praying outside your extermination center, what better way to respond than to pray back. Now the only question is...who the heck are you praying to? Moloch? Baal? Isis, and Astarte? Quetzalcoatl? Lucifer? You sure can't be praying to the God of the Bible which describes killing the innocent as one of the four evils that cry out to God for vengeance.

Praying about child murder is the kind of activity that identifies Planned Parenthood as absolutely diabolical.

The gay lobby has declared Friday April 20th "The Day of Silence" when schools are urged to allow teachers and students to go around like zombies to promote the gay agenda by their "silence." They've chosen an appropriate name all right because it's definitely about silence -- silencing Christians and other people of faith who object to the normalization of perverted behavior. The gay lobby is not interested in increasing respect for people with same-sex attraction. Everyone has a right to respect as a child of God. But what they want is respect and acceptance for same-sex acts. "Love me, love my perversion," is their unspoken motto.

Advertised as an anti-bullying protest, the Day of Silence is actually all about bullying those who dare to oppose the gay agenda. It's also about brainwashing kids into accepting gender confusion, including the behaviors that go with it, while demanding everyone call these behaviors normal. It's like telling kids that classmates who go around insisting they're Napoleon or Queen Elizabeth are perfectly normal and, of course, the students are required to live in their virtual world of make-believe.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. Albert Einstein

How many unthinking persons are there who will pull an "expert" out of the hat and insist what they say is true? Look at the popularity of the global warming scare. (People love the tingle they get from horror scenarios.) The so-called scientists embracing global warming have been exposed as liars who will falsify data, ignore anything that doesn't support their theory (like the medieval warming trend), and destroy the careers of those who dare to disagree with them. Those who blindly accept the "authority" of these so-called experts are a big part of the problem. One could say the same thing about macro-evolution. The "proof" for it is full of holes, but any scientists who posit another theory for the origin of life are treated like Neanderthals.

God gave us a mind to use to pursue the truth. One of the reasons I love being a Catholic is that it's so reasonable. Everything we believe is based on rock-solid doctrine that makes absolute sense. That's not to say we can understand everything. A story about St. Augustine illustrates that we can't. He was walking on the beach reflecting on the mystery of the Trinity when he met a small boy trying to empty the ocean into a bucket with a spoon. "That's impossible," St. Augustine said to the little boy. "So is it for you to understand the Trinity," the child responded and disappeared.

St. Augustine wasn't being told not to study the truths of the faith, but to avoid the pride that says we can fully understand God. If we could, He wouldn't be God. But he made us in His image and we are called to use our minds to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. We should not blindly accept what some "authority" tells us.

Since I started with a quote from Einstein, I'll end with one that charmingly, I think, illustrates that he had a wonderful sense of humor. "To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself."

Friday, April 13, 2012

Especially the poor working GSA employees who needed a Vegas vacation that cost taxpayers almost a million dollars! Check out the report on the boondoggle here. They even spent over $3000 on a mindreader! It was an easy job. These bureaucrats don't have much mind to read. And they certainly don't have much integrity!

Voter ID may be the least of our problems. As Stalin said, it doesn't matter who votes, but who counts the vote. Who will be counting the vote in November? Watch the video and then check out the articles at the end.

SOE software is used to tabulate the vote in over 500 jurisdictions in nineteen states according to SOE's own website. Check out their partial customer list which includes entire states, e.g., Alabama, New York, and South Carolina among them. Then think what it means for a Spanish company to now be the owner of the sotware used to count the U.S. vote in many, many places. Maybe you're shrugging your shoulders. How would you feel if the company that acquired SOE was Russian or Chinese or North Korean?

Let's consider the hackers for a minute. You can read about ten famous hackers here. They got into DOD, university systems, Congressional phone calls, etc. Do you really think hackers, perhaps with the cooperation of a socialist group, couldn't add or subtract votes to the count?

Don't believe it can happen? Then check out how two grad students and their professor hacked into a test bed in D.C. They programmed the voting machines to play the University of Michigan Fight Song after every vote. Here's their conclusion:

In summarizing their findings, the researchers point to many vulnerabilities that make electronic voting, and particularly on-line voting, virtually impossible to secure. Among the weaknesses they point to are the use of commercial open source software to develop systems, the lack of an ability to auditing cast ballots, tensions between ballot secrecy and integrity, architectural brittleness in web applications, and the exposure of the system to Internet-base threats.

Speaking as part of a panel discussion on e-voting at the RSA Security Conference on March 1, Prof. Halderman reiterated that because of the many challenges of securing on-line voting, the technology simply can't be used safely in the foreseeable future.

So there you have it. An unsecure technology being used in many places in the country owned by a company in a socialist country. Gives you confidence in the November outcome doesn't it?

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Some things never change. Feminist women have always had nothing but contempt for stay-at-home moms and Hilary Rosen's comment this week about Ann Romney "never working a day in her life" is just more of the same. The only work that matters, the only "real work" to people like Rosen, requires a paycheck. I remember a debate back in the seventies between Karen de Crow, President of NOW (National Organization for Women) and a pro-life woman who was, I believe, a lawyer. When the pro-life woman introduced herself as a wife and mother first, de Crow responded contemptuously, "You're a lawyer first and a slave second." Ah yes, raising children is slavery. Working for a political campaign or for NOW is an honored profession.

Having raised five children myself and being, for a short time, a full time working mom (as a GS-7 to GS-12) for the Navy and a part time working mom off and on to help balance the budget, I can say that raising my children was the hardest and most exhausting job of all - also the most rewarding. I could be replaced in five minutes at my D.C. office; I was irreplaceable at home. Why are teaching school, operating a day care center, being a chef or waitress, managing a budget, being a first aid worker, tutoring, driving a taxi or bus, doing consumer research, etc. all honorable professions, but doing all those things in your own home is "never working a day" in your life? Get a life, Hilary!

Oh, I forgot, she has one -- being a Democrat strategist, a lesbian activist, and a critic of stay-at-home moms who have "never worked a day" in their lives! If you want to know more about pundit Hilary Rosen go here.

And if you want to see who is really engaged in a war on women, the ones most impacted by the economic downturn, go here. This is personal for me. One of my nieces who is married to a school teacher and has four children, lost her job about a year ago in the economic downturn and then they lost their house! Try telling them how the "hope and change" worked for their family.

I had the privilege of being arrested with Fr. Weslin at several rescues back in the 1980s. In one Falls Church, VA rescue the police housed us in an underground garage and Father gathered the Catholics to pray the rosary. He always call the Blessed Mother our "twelve star general."

Fr. Weslin is a personal hero of mine. He was willing to give up everything for the babies. He stayed at our home in Alexandria once because he needed some medical care at Fort Belvoir which was nearboy. His cassock was threadbare; shoes were taped together. He had a small overnight bag that was mostly filled with his Mass kit. What a far cry from the French cuff clergy crowd!

Father was a late vocation after a lay career in the military and being married with children. After he buried his wife, he turned their house into a shepherding home for unwed mothers. He founded the Lambs of Christ to be one with the unborn. When they were arrested they were silent and limp. Just as babies cannot speak for themselves or move around on their own, the lambs identified as closely as possible with the helplessness of the babies. Like Jesus before his accusers they were "silent and opened not [their] mouth[s]."

May the Blessed Mother comfort Fr. Weslin in his last days and welcome him to paradise. I know the babies will be there singing songs of thanksgiving as they escort him before the throne of God. Please keep Father Weslin in your prayers. God bless you, dear Father. You teach us what it really means to be a member of the Church Militant identifying with the suffering Christ!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Gosh whoddu guessed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under Obama would choose "politics over principle?" Can it be? One federal judge thinks so. He threw out a case against a pro-life sidewalk counselor accusing the feds of a high level conspiracy with the abortion mill. Here's what U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp wrote in his ruling accusing the DOJ of filing a case that lacked evidence:

“The Court is at a loss as to why the Government chose to prosecute this particular case in the first place,” wrote Judge Ryskamp. “The Court can only wonder whether this action was the product of a concerted effort between the Government and PWC, which began well before the date of the incident at issue, to quell Ms. Pine’s activities rather than to vindicate the rights of those allegedly aggrieved by Ms. Pine’s conduct.”

Read the complete article here. The feds are doing the same thing to our friend Dick Retta. Abortion mills must be protected at all costs no matter how many lies and false accusations it takes to hammer pro-lifers. This is what tyranny looks like.

Those of you who aren't pro-life better think about what happens when the force of the feds turns on you. You think you're exempt? Study history! There's no honor among thieves and despots.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

We have two of our grandchildren here this week, two active little boys age seven and six. The seven-year-old will make his First Communion next month. We took them to daily Mass yesterday and and today amidst moaning about having to go when they'd much rather stay home and watch cartoons. So I offered a deal for tomorrow. We'll skip morning Mass if we also skip eating for the day. If we can skip the Bread of Life which is most important, why not skip the bread that's less important.

Decisions, decisions.

The seven-year-old said he'd rather go to Mass; the six-year-old said he'd skip eating for the day. But then I reminded him that tomorrow's plan included going to Denny's for breakfast after Mass and meeting up with his cousins and their mom. So he decided that going to Mass was the best choice after all, but said I "tricked them into it."

I said, "Not really. If we we're going to 'fast' from Mass wouldn't it be good to fast from eating as well to remind us to hunger and thirst for Jesus." I don't think he's convinced. But when you're a little boy who has a hard time sitting still for two minutes, Mass really is a challenge and a temptation to poke your brother. I spent a lot of time suppressing a smile this morning remembering my own child-rearing challenges at Mass.

Larry and I always try to match daily Mass with something fun for the kids: lighting candles, a trip to the doughnut shop or Seven-11, etc. We'd like the children to associate going to Mass with positive things. It would be easier to skip the daily ritual when we have grandkids visiting, but we like to keep our own little daily "rule" as well as remind the kids of what's really important in life. We pray that the lessons we offer became a source of grace-filled memories that increase their desire to put first things first.

Now, how much fraud do you think will take place in the 2012 election? With the support and encouragement of the Democratic party? How many times do you think union flunkies will vote? How 'bout Nancy Pelosi? How many illegal immigrants will vote? How many times? Two thumbs up to James O'Keefe and his Project Veritas. Support Voter I.D. -- limit voter fraud. (I'd like to say eliminate voter fraud, but I think that's probably impossible.)

In view of all that's happened since this Vortex episode was made (prior to Obama's appearance at Notre Dame), it is even more on target now. Obama is out to destroy the Catholic Church as an institution and Catholics as individuals must be forced to violate everything they hold dear. It's time to pray for the courage of the first century martyrs. We'll need it!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Do any of us have any real comprehension of what it means when we say, "The Lord suffered and died for us?" Maybe those who have reflected deeply and often on the passion get a small glimmer. Mel Gibson certainly presented a graphic portrayal of it in his film, The Passion of the Christ. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who studied the shroud and wrote a book called Doctor at Calvary, reached the point he could no longer make the stations of the cross because of his understanding. But most of us look at the sanitized crucifixes over our altars and how much do they touch us?

The truth of Christ's suffering is bloody and awful. When I saw the photos of the sculpture by Juan Manuel Miñarro based on the Shroud of Turin, I remembered all of Barbet's descriptions of Christ's wounds. Barbet offers a meditation on the passion as an appendix to his book. I usually read it on Good Friday between 12:00 and 3:00 to remind me of the great love God has for us -- that He sent His only Son to die a gruesome death, the death of a criminal, to save the REAL criminals -- US. Now Miñarro provides the illustrations to go with the words. They are a graphic reminder of the price Jesus paid for us. "By His stripes we are healed."

Thursday, April 5, 2012

I expect somebody will take issue with the paragraph below, but I agree. Go, George!

It amazes me that a clericalist culture of toadying and flattery still exists in American Church circles, given the scandals into which the bishops have routinely plunged the faithful. I have no desire to participate in this worldly game of ring-kissing in which the Cardinal Wuerls wallow. They enjoy the trappings of their office without actually exercising it for the good of souls. They demand 13th-century obedience while behaving like 21st-century flakes who play church in costume and staff.

And Cardinal Wuerl has plenty of company. Clericalism needs to be trashed. A roman collar or a crook and mitre may be symbols of the bishop's authority, but that doesn't mean he's exercising it.

A bishop is only as good as his fidelity to the deposit of the faith. Bishops who advance homosexuality in the Church like Wuerl did in Pittsburgh need to be outed for their treachery. Bishops who fail to preach the truth about abortion and contraception need to be outed for their treachery.

The reason Catholics are fighting on so many fronts in the United States today is thanks to dereliction of duty on the part of so many bishops who have loved the world and toadied to the world's powerful. They need to remember where the "kingdom, the power, and the glory" really reside.

The book of Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun. I thought of that while Larry and I listened to a book on CD during our recent trip to Texas and back. In fact, we listened to the short book twice. It's a work by John Steinbeck, The Moon is Down, published during the height of World War II and the Nazi occupation of Europe. Telling the story of a small conquered town invaded and occupied to provide its coal to the Third Reich, Steinbeck illustrates the the indomitable spirit of man. It becomes clear as the tale progresses that the German soldiers will never conquer the spirit of the people. The book became a significant contribution to the Allied propaganda campaign, so successful that, in Fascist Italy, mere possession of Steinbeck's work was a crime punishable by death.

The setting is a coal mining town on the coast with an escape route to England. While Steinbeck never identifies the town,

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Tomorrow begins the holiest days of the liturgical year, the Easter Triduum. I always reach this time wishing I had made a better Lent. This year was an especially busy time with a visit to Texas for a granddaughter's Confirmation. As a matter of fact we only returned home this afternoon in time to celebrate the Holy Week services at our own parish, the place we really wanted to be.

As much as I love spending time with our two Texas families in Houston and Austin, I find visiting and Lent a hard combination. Larry and I generally go to daily Mass, but during our two weeks on the road we managed to make daily Mass only a handful of times.

In the car we always have time for multiple rosaries, our Legion of Mary prayers, and selections from the Liturgy of the Hours, but our Lenten fasting commitments get more difficult. Throw in my Lenten birthday and several others among our children, and Lenten fasting is a challenge indeed.

So here I am at the end of another Lent, once again wishing I'd done more than I have and praying that the Lord will accept my meager sacrifices knowing how weak I am. I think the only time I really resemble the apostles is when they are sleeping in the garden and running away and hiding. But the grace of God can transform even a miserable apostle like me, so I throw myself on Christ's mercy and ask for the grace to become a saint. Help me, Lord, especially during these last few days of Lent, to be conformed more closely to Your holy will.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Holy Week is a good time to reflect on living our lives "under God." Lord, help us to do Your will every day with every breath we take, with every word we speak, with every step we take. Help us to return good for evil and never to harbor hate toward our neighbors. Help all who are enslaved by sin to be freed by the grace of repentance and reform and a desire to be conformed to You, not the world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gay activists will either force Christians to support their agenda or do everything they can to destroy them. Note in this article that the T-shirt company was set up by the gays who requested a bid without identifying the content. It was clearly a set up of the obviously Christian group that self-identified as Christian and stated their right of refusal to offensive material. Note that the company offered to find the gays an alternative company to print their shirts at the same price in time for their event. Further note the opinion of the human rights rep who said a gay printing company would have the right to refuse work to a Christian group that wanted shirts with the biblical position against homosexuality. The double standard and persecution of Christians grows. Would the T-shirt company be obliged to print shirts that celebrated pornography, adultery, rape or drug use? Gay sex is a sin, and in fact the Bible names it as a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. Forcing Christians to violate their consciences is a staple of liberalism which has no tolerance whatsoever for any view but its own. There's a great book calledLiberalism is a Sin. I recommend it highly.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

A high definition video of Zimmerman on the night he shot Trayvon Martin offers evidence that supports his version of the story. The video clearly shows a large wound on the back of his head consistent with hi head being slammed against the pavement. If Martin was also trying to disarm him, he surely could have feared for his life.

On the other hand, if Martin was struggling with Zimmerman to get his gun, he probably feared for his life as well and it appears it may have been his voice on the 911 call screaming for help. Two voice experts have said the voice isn't Zimmerman's.

No matter how you look at this case, it's a tragic mess. Pray for everybody involved and for a cooling off of the racist rhetoric. One of Zimmerman's neighbors said she often saw Latinos and blacks at their home and there was no evidence of racism in the family.

The dems all assured us that Barack Obama was the smartest man to ever fill the oval office. The paragon of brilliance has failed to live up to his promise which was more about hype than hope. But last week was one for the record books. When it comes to disasters, Obama's list of gaffes and setbacks made it an especially brutal week says Charles Hurt in a recent Washington Times article. Check it out. But will reality make any difference to the true believers in the electorate who live in their dream world of "hope and change?" Pray hard! As we begin Holy Week, it's a good time to reflect on our own personal sins that have given us the kind of leader we deserve.

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Comments are moderated. Please be respectful. Argument (in the classical sense) is welcome, however crude, or obscene remarks will not be posted. I am more lenient with ad hominem attacks directed at me (no name-calling) since so many people these days don't seem to know how to engage in a discussion without them.